INFLUENCE OF INTERNET ON JOURNALISM PRACTICE

2020

The aim of this study was predicated on the need to ascertain the extent to which Nigerian Journalists, especially those in the state capital of Ekiti state; have integrated the use of information communication technology (ICT) tools in their journalism practice which includes, but not limited to; news gathering, dissemination etc. The objectives among others is to decipher the extent of use and the adoption of new information communication technologies in journalism practise. A total of thirty four (34) TV and radio journalists were sampled with a view to ascertain their use and types ICT tools employed for the achievement of communication efficiency. Despite the perceived importance of the role of ICT in improving communication efficiency (as opined by 97% of the respondents), findings from this study revealed that the use of modern ICT tools were not fully employed for their day to day task execution. Also, only 24% of the respondents agreed to the availability and free access to...

The study evaluated the impacts of social media on modern journalism and discovered that social media is emerging as a powerful phenomenon across Nigeria as showcased by popular citizen journalism websites. The Sahara Reporters, one of such websites, is noted for its timely reports on issues and events as evidenced in a study conducted by Dare (2011, p.44) where 86 of the 120 respondents surveyed cited the Sahara reporters as a source of breaking news. By its interactivity and ability to deliver news in split seconds, social media have posed a serious challenge to the modern journalism in Nigeria. In congruency with the Democratic Participant Media Theory and the Public Sphere model, the researcher came to the reasoned conclusion that in this modern age, the social media have emerged as alternative news sources, since audiences now depend on them largely in meeting their information needs. In as much as social media in Nigeria has broadened people's access to a variety of news, this study suggests that a proper synergy between the modern journalism and social media is recommended to ascertain the best way(s) forward, for effective and efficient journalism practices in the country which will suit the modern age. The need therefore to sensitize Nigerian citizen journalists on proper use of this emerging brand of journalism is obvious. Among other things, it was recommended that operators of social media should endeavour to observe the core ethics of conventional journalism, that is, accuracy and objectivity in their news dissemination responsibilities.

For many years, Western media theories and journalism practices have been the hallmark of the journalism profession in Africa. However, the globalised nature of our world which has become interconnected and interdependent, spawned by increasing technological changes, underlines the importance of analysing journalism practices and new media in Nigeria from a global perspective. Theories of the present global media ecology have therefore, become unsustainable and unsatisfactory (Cottle, 2009). Globalisation opens up the opportunity to study journalism practice and culture as a hybrid (McMillin, 2007), hence the need for a definition of journalism that can reflect and accommodate the global political differences and culture (Wasserman and de Beer, 2009). Research in journalism studies around the world consistently highlights the existence of similarities and differences across cultures which signify the natural diversities in our world. Previous studies on journalism ethics and routines, including editorial conventions in the United States, Europe and Africa show similarities (Hanitzsch, 2009, 413), while other studies have also shown that there are differences in the way journalists from various countries sees their roles when making news judgements in their professional callings (Hanusch, 2008a). Drawing from educational, cultural, social, economic and political factors that distinguish journalistic practices in various societies and cultures, this paper will employ Sociology of news and technological determinism theories, as conceptualised by different scholars. A number of issues have thus remained underexplored. For one, can we assume there is anything like ‘African journalism’? How do Nigerian journalists perceive their roles in digital cultures? This study examines the issue of journalistic ethics and culture in Nigeria by exploring the issue of freedom of the press, independence, impartiality, fair play, decency, accuracy, journalism education and responsibility in the age of the internet. To this end, a descriptive survey and in-depth interviews with reporters and editors is explored.

IOSR Journal Of Humanities And Social Science, 2016

The purpose of this study was to determine the utilisation of the Internet by broadcast journalists in two states in Nigeria, namely Rivers and Bayelsa States. The survey method was employed to gather information from a sample of three hundred (300) broadcast journalists systematically selected from a total population of 601 radio and television broadcast journalists in the two states. In order to elicit relevant data for the study from the respondents, a 21-item questionnaire was used and the Kuder-Richardson formula 21 (KR-21) was used to establish reliability of the research instrument at 0.70. The results show that the Internet has changed the way broadcast journalists in Rivers and Bayelsa States perform their professional duty especially in the use of Internet tools for gathering information and surveillance of their immediate environment and beyond. The findings also suggest that there is a shared perception between television and radio broadcast journalists in Rivers and Bayelsa States on the time they spent on the Internet and the utilisation of Internet tools in their professional practice. The conclusion is that broadcast journalists in the two states have good knowledge of Internet tools and they use these tools to carry out their jobs effectively. Accordingly, it was recommended among others, that the journalists should continue with the use of Internet tools to get useful information and to broadcast useful information to listeners/viewers but they should consider the application and use of new technologies like the Internet as complimentary rather than a replacement for basic journalism skills which sets them apart as professionals.

Review of European Studies, 2013

The thrust of this study was predicated on the need to ascertain the extent to which Nigerian journalists, especially those in Portharcourt metropolis, have integrated the use of information technology (IT) in their professional repertoire. The objectives among others included the need to streamline the challenges, if any, journalists face in the adoption of new information technologies (ITs). The study by its nature necessitated survey. To this end, one hundred and twenty (120) journalists were sampled with a view to dovetailing their responses within a scholarly spectrum. Findings revealed that 67% of the respondents use IT facilities in their day to day operations. Data further revealed that IT facilities in the various media houses studied were obsolete and inadequate. The challenges faced by journalists in the deployment of IT facilities were identified as lack of access to emerging information technologies as well as the absence of a framework for the training and retraining of journalists on information technology hardware and software configurations. It was therefore recommended that media proprietors should provide as part of the work environment, IT facilities to enable journalists discharge their duties in line with international best practices.

The Handbook of Global Online Journalism, 2012

"Two momentous developments have defined the Nigerian journalistic landscape in the last ten years. The first is the migration of all major Nigerian newspapers to the Internet (while actively sustaining their print editions) in hopes of reaching the highly educated Nigerian migratory elite in the diaspora. The second development is the robust growth and flowering of transnational, diasporan citizen online news media that have vigorously sought and captured the attention of Nigerians both at home and in the diaspora. On the surface, these developments seem contradictory, even counter-intuitive: the migration of news content from homeland legacy newspapers to the Internet should have functioned to satisfy the thirst for domestic news by geographically displaced diasporan Nigerians and therefore obviated the need for diasporan-run citizen news outlets. In this chapter, I trace the evolution and idiosyncratic features of online journalism in Nigeria; explore its variegated manifestations; capture the relational and professional tensions that have erupted between Web-only, mostly diasporan, citizen journalists and more traditional homeland journalists; and show how all this has altered journalistic practice in Nigeria. I also discuss the incidence of the tensile relationship between citizen online journalists and the Nigerian government, a relationship that has led to the high-profile arrests of diasporan citizen journalists who traveled to Nigeria from their base in the West for routine business. Finally, I will explore how the emergent genre of citizen social journalism (i.e., microblogging on Facebook and Twitter by ordinary citizens about news events) helped shape the 2011 general elections in Nigeria and enriched homeland traditional journalistic practice. "

New media and mass communication, 2017

For many years, Western media theories and journalism practices have been the hallmark of the journalism profession in Africa. However, the globalised nature of our world which has become interconnected and interdependent, spawned by increasing technological changes, underlines the importance of analysing journalism practices and new media in Nigeria from a global perspective. Theories of the present global media ecology have therefore, become unsustainable and unsatisfactory (Cottle, Global Crisis Reporting: Journalism in the Global Age, Open University Press, Maidenhead, 2009). Globalisation opens up the opportunity to study journalism practice and culture as a hybrid (McMillin, International Media Studies, Wiley-Blackwell, Oxford, 2007), hence the need for a definition of journalism that can reflect and accommodate the global political differences and culture (Wasserman and de Beer, The Handbook of Journalism Studies, Routledge, New York, 2009).

Online Journal of Communication and Media Technologies

In July 2016, the budget padding scandal hit the Nigerian airwaves. Abdulmumin Jibrin had accused Speaker of the House of Representatives, Yakubu Dogara and House of Rep officers of trying to appropriate N40 Billion Naira through padding. Hon Abdulmumin Jibrin, Former Chairman of House Appropriations Committee and member, representing Kiru/Bebeji Federal Constituency, Kano State, made these allegations against the House of Representatives and its leaders, through his Twitter handle and more recently using his email and even Facebook accounts. The media war started after Yakubu Dogara, speaker of the Federal House of Representatives, announced the sack of Jibrin as the chairman, house committee on appropriation on Wednesday 20 th July. Jibrin was immediately replaced with Mustapha Dawaki Bala and Jibrin, in reaction, took to his Twitter page to make the wild allegations the next day and had since continued to use the social media for right to reply to post his own version of the story. The budget padding scandal cited above that erupted recently in the country is illustrative of one of the different ways the new media have influenced how news is gathered and reported in Nigeria and many other countries. Before the advent of the new media a reporter was given a lead or went out to find a story. Today many stories are received third hand through Facebook accounts, Twitter, Digs or Instagram, so that by the time a story is assigned to the reporter the story in some form or another is already out there in the social media. As these changes occur they continue to generate debates on the extent of effects on journalism practice in three key areas: nature of journalists; nature of news gathering and the way news is disseminated (Veglisetal,2005; Hermans ,2009; Fenton, 2010; Olakitan, 2012). Prevalent discourses on the issue, seem polarized as to the extent of effect of the new media on media practice, audience preference and audience use. And tend to often generalize these effects, muffling the differences arising from regional specificities from divergent cultures. It is

Internet has reinvented and redefined society; it has introduced a new culture, refurbished and reshaped the existing ones. This study is an assessment of new trends and practices in Nigerian media environment. Conducted within the context of mediamorphosis theory, the research used qualitative tools such as semi-structured interviews, direct-observation, while some secondary data from different sources were triangulated with the primary data in order to enhance the richness and trustworthiness of the findings. In terms of sampling, multiple-staged sampling method was adopted and this resulted in the selection of 15 media practitioners which were drawn from different media genres. The findings show that digital delivery of media contents has occupied superlative position in modern journalism practice in Nigeria and this has given birth to " non-media " social media influencers, such as celebrities, corporate organisations, who promote their brands through their various social media accounts on Facebook, Twitter, and Blogs, among others. Findings also reveal that there is a yawning gap between journalism practice and journalism education in Nigeria, as the newsroom is believed to be ahead of classroom. The study therefore recommends that if the ship of the fourth estate of the realm must not sink, the future journalism education must also involve professionals in the industry in teaching of journalism in journalism and mass communication institutions. This is because the potency of the next generation of journalism education can be measured by its ability to maximise opportunities and minimise the challenges associated with digital technologies.

of various forms of communication technologies. According to Onyike-Chiaba & Emodeh (2014), cited in (Guanah, 2020) opine that before printing was invented, tribal people were primarily hearing-communicators due to the fact that they were emotionally and interpersonally close. The tribal people took as 'hearing was believing.' They argued that printing press altered this trend and introduced a situation in which sight predominated: communication changed from dominantly oral and aural (speech and hearing) to writing and reading. The significance of Information Communication Technology in individual improvement has acquired developing consideration among created specialists, government, strategists, and civil society. According to Bandele (2006) cited in Kpolovie & wusak (2016), ICT is a revolution that involves the use of computers, the internet, and other telecommunication technology in every aspect of human endeavour. Information and communications technology has the potential to improve all aspects of our social, economic and cultural life. As the web changes the substance of correspondence, columnists are starting to have another method of bundling and spreading news to the general population. Despite the fact that couple of columnists in Nigeria approach the web and the vast majority of them do that in their separate work environments (without individual web access) since web association is restricted to senior individuals particularly overseeing editors and ranking staff in any case, they are not avoided with regard to the worldwide town. In this way, writers access web from digital bistros, libraries and media asset focuses and the greater part of them actually utilise the web to send email. Beyond sending email to central command and accepting guidelines from a similar web has set out new open doors for columnists to sell stories not exclusively to other media houses locally yet across the globe. The web has made the world more modest for columnists to investigate. This awesome innovation has additionally made research on different topics accessible by means of talking and trade of messages. This has made new business sectors and type of news coverage where writers practice and work as online columnists, content administrators or editors for specific sites (Talabi, 2011). Stressing further, Talabi, (2011) argued that the rapid adoption of internet by journalist is a nationwide phenomenon. The process by which computerisation or 32 | P a g e